Bono told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: "There has been no progress on trade and the US play silly buggers on subsidies and the EU on tariffs and it just goes on and on.

"...It seems that the poorest of the poor are always last in the queue for any breakthrough."

It was vital campaigners kept the pressure up on world leaders to deliver on the promises they made at the Gleneagles summit, he added.

"Politicians like to sign cheques, but they rarely like to cash them," he warned.

New campaign

One of the anti-poverty campaign's founders Andy Atkins said even though the year-long campaign was coming to a close, tens of thousands of people were still very keen to ensure its focus was not lost.

He told the BBC: "Large numbers of people have started campaigning for international justice on poverty issues that have never campaigned before and ... have remained interested.

"So it hasn't just been a short burst of energy."

Last week development charity Oxfam launched its own campaign to get a million people signed up to fight world poverty in whatever way they can.

The charity said it wanted to build on the successes and widespread support for Make Poverty History as well as the generosity British people showed after the Asian tsunami.

Like Bono, it also wants to see more achieved on fair trade to reduce poverty in the longer term.

Oxfam argues the need to allow poorer nations to trade free from the tariffs and trade barriers that prevent their economies growing should not be forgotten in 2006.